These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent
Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of
ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to
project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the
rest of the world, task force officials said.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire
support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike,
as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that
occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative
effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single
aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike,
but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of
ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative
effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments
are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of
aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike,
or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, returned a guilty
verdict today against Muhanad Mahmoud Al-Farekh on nine counts, including
conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass
destruction, conspiracy to bomb a government facility and conspiracy to provide
material support to terrorists.Farekh
faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced by United States District Judge
Brian M. Cogan.

The verdict was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney
General for National Security Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney
Bridget M. Rohde for the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Director in
Charge William F. Sweeney. Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office and
Commissioner James P. O’Neill of the NYPD.

“Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh is an al Qaeda terrorist who
conspired to kill Americans overseas.The trial evidence showed that he was involved in a variety of terrorist
activity, including a VBIED attack on a U.S. military installation in Afghanistan
in 2009.With today’s guilty verdict,
Farekh is being held accountable for his crimes,” said Acting Assistant
Attorney General Boente.“Counterterrorism is the highest priority of the National Security
Division, and we will continue to use all tools available across the globe to
bring to justice those who seek to harm Americans, including our brave
servicemen and women who risk their lives in defense of our nation.”

“Today, an American al-Qaeda member was brought to justice
in a U.S. courtroom,” said Acting United States Attorney Rohde.“The jury’s verdict on all nine counts of the
indictment established Farekh’s responsibility for a violent attack on members
of our armed forces, his efforts to murder Americans and his commitment to one
of the world’s most infamous terrorist organizations.The defendant now faces the prospect of life
imprisonment for the commission of these serious federal crimes.”

“Today’s verdict is justice for the harm and destruction Al
Farekh intended to cause when he conspired with others to bomb a U.S. military
base in Afghanistan,” said Assistant Director inCharge Sweeney.“The FBI stands alongside our military and
law enforcement partners to hold criminals accountable for their actions no
matter where they are in the world.”

“The defendant in this case faces up to life in prison after
being found guilty of conspiring to bomb a government facility, use a weapon of
mass destruction, murder U.S. nationals and provide material support to
terrorists,” said Commissioner O’Neill.“While Farekh’s crimes occurred in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the
defendant’s co-conspirator trained Najibullah Zazi and others who also intended
to attack New York City’s subway system. I want to thank all involved in
today’s verdict, from the investigators and prosecutors to the jury and judge.”

At trial, the government presented evidence that prior to
traveling overseas to join al Qaeda, Farekh was a student at the University of
Manitoba in Canada. In 2007, Farekh and two fellow students traveled to
Pakistan with the intention of fighting against American forces overseas.
Farekh and his co-conspirators had become radicalized watching video recordings
encouraging violent jihad, listened to jihadist lectures, including lectures by
now-deceased al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Anwar al-Awlaki. They
traveled to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, an area in the
northern part of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan and is home to al Qaeda’s
base of operations, where they joined and received training from al Qaeda.

One of Farekh’s co-conspirators, Ferid Imam, provided
weapons and military-type training at an al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan in
September 2008. Among Imam’s trainees were Najibullah Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay and
Adis Medunjanin, of Queens, New York, who intended to return to New York City
to carry out a suicide attack in the subway system. During the trial, Ahmedzay
testified that Imam as his weapons trainer. Zazi and Ahmedzay pleaded guilty
pursuant to cooperation agreements and have yet to be sentenced. Medunjanin was
convicted after trial and sentenced to life imprisonment. Imam has been
indicted for his role in the plot.

The government proved Farekh’s participation in the building
of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) that was used in an
attack against Forward Operating Base Chapman (FOB Chapman) on Jan. 19, 2009 in
Khost, Afghanistan.The evidence at
trial showed that two vehicles approached the fence line of FOB Chapman. The
operator of the first vehicle, a pickup-sized truck, detonated a VBIED at the
gate. The second vehicle, a truck carrying 7,500 pounds of explosives, became
stuck in the blast crater. The driver fled without detonating the second, more
powerful VBIED, and was shot and killed by local security personnel.Forensic technicians in Afghanistan recovered
18 fingerprints from the adhesive packing tape wrapped around the undetonated
bomb that were matched to the defendant. A hair follicle was also recovered and
analysis indicated that the follicle’s mitochondrial DNA was consistent with
that of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorneys Richard M. Tucker, Douglas
M. Pravda and Saritha Komatireddy of the Eastern District of New York, and
Trial Attorney Alicia Cook of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism
Section are prosecuting this case.

Friday, September 29, 2017

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2017 — Coalition and partner forces
are making significant progress in defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria, the spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve
said today in Baghdad.

"ISIS is losing on all fronts, and they are losing
their grip on their few remaining strongholds in both Iraq and Syria,"
Army Col. Ryan Dillon said in a videoconference with reporters at the Pentagon.

The coalition and its partners on the ground -- the Iraqi
security forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces -- remain committed to
defeating the enemy, he said.

"But make no mistake," he added, "we fully
expect fierce fighting in the days ahead. And while these terrorists remain a
dangerous and desperate enemy, our ISF and SDF partners have proven they are up
to the task."

The terrorists have committed inhumane actions and violated
the laws of war, Dillon said, are responsible for the deaths of thousands of
innocent civilians. He called on the world to hold ISIS accountable for the
violations.

Focus on Decisive Defeat in Iraq

Iraqi forces have made significant progress in the fight,
Dillon said. "Our Iraqi partners have fought a long, bloody war and have
sacrificed a great deal to liberate their people and clear terrorists from
cities and villages," he told reporters.

More than 42,000 square kilometers in Iraq have been cleared
and more than 4 million people are now free from ISIS control, the colonel
said. "ISIS is on the run, and we must remain focused on delivering a
decisive defeat in their few remaining holdouts in Iraq," he added.

In the past week, Iraqi security forces have continued
fighting ISIS on multiple fronts, showing their capacity as a strong, unified
fighting force, Dillon said, noting that they have made steady progress in
defeating the enemy in the two and a half weeks since launching simultaneous
operations in Hiwija, Sharqat and in the western part of Anbar province.The Iraqi forces completed the first phase of
operations in Hiwija and Sharqat, clearing more than 1,300 square kilometers
and liberating more than 100 villages, he said.

In western Anbar, the town of Ana is clear of ISIS fighters
and improvised explosive devices, and operations are under way to clear the
nearby town of Rayhanna.

ISIS Losing Grip on Raqqa

"We are seeing the terrorist group begin to lose its
grip on their self-declared capital in Raqqa," he said, adding that more
than 75 percent of the city is now clear of ISIS with more than 50 city blocks
cleared in the past week.

"ISIS is trying to control the remaining civilians in
the city, holding them hostage as the terrorists cling to the final square
kilometers they hold," he said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces provided safe passage for about
300 civilians seeking refuge from Raqqa this week, he said. "The singular
mission of our combined joint task force is the annihilation of ISIS," he
stressed. "In total, across Syria, about 2 million people are no longer
under ISIS control, and more than 44,000 square kilometers have been
cleared."